Vol 13, No 1, Article 1

Sexuality and Love in a Psychotherapeutic Setting: From the death of Oedipus to the emergence of af the situational field – A Gestalt Therapy developmentMargharita Spagnuolo Lobb

AbstractWhile sexuality has been amply studied in psychotherapy as a fact of relationship, and its ethical norms defined, love is a concept which, though taken for granted, proves difficult to define, whether for the therapist or for the patient. I shall begin this presentation by defining first the therapist’s, then the patient’s love, and go on to set these feelings within the reference framework of the co-created contact boundary in a given situation. I shall then explain how the perspective of the contact-boundary implies the surmounting of that pillar of psychodynamic conceptualization that we call the Oedipus complex. In conclusion, in line with Gestalt epistemology, I shall introduce the concept of the triadic field as an epistemological frame for the experiences of love and sexuality in psychotherapy.Key-Words: Sexuality, Love, Triadic field, Situational field, Contact-boundary, Gestalt